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Eugene Neighborhood Guide

The EVEN Hotel Eugene makes it easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy the hotel’s state-of-the-art fitness center, in-room fitness zones for private workouts, and nutritious and tasty food options from the Cork and Kale Market & Bar. Minutes from downtown Eugene, the property sits on the edge of the more than 400-acre Alton Baker Park and the north branch of the pristine Willamette River. EVEN Hotel Eugene is also the closest hotel to Autzen Stadium, home field for the University of Oregon’s NCAA Division I Ducks football team.

In a city that values maintaining a healthy balance between work and play, you will find plenty of places to exercise, try a class, eat well, and explore without the need for a vehicle:

Great Gyms

Designed with the outdoor climber in mind, the walls and routes at Crux Rock Climbing Gym include roofs, overhangs, low angles and bouldering caves. With 30 rope stations throughout the 9,000-square-foot facility, Crux is a popular destination year-round and particularly during the wet and rainy season.

Located in the heart of the upscale Oakway Center outdoor shopping mall, Orangetheory Fitness puts interval training — which monitors your heart rate for the most efficient burn — at the core of its hour-long workout experience.

Blending yoga, Pilates, and ballet, workout sessions at Barre3 in downtown Eugene help tone and strengthen the body while burning calories. Be prepared to sweat and groove as you flow through the hour-long sessions set to upbeat music.

Must-Try Classes

The area’s first DIY Workshop space for newbies and corporate team building events, The Craft House Eugene looks to empower people one power tool at a time. Bolts of brightly colored fabric and spools of whimsical ribbon counterbalance an organized panel of drills, nail guns and orbital sanders in a century-old refurbished church. Workshops are organized into two themes: crafting and building, with projects ranging from leather earrings to wooden plant stands.

A cornerstone business within Eugene’s popular 5th Street Public Market, Provisions Market Hall is a popular gathering spot for food and wine enthusiasts. Regular “Taste and Learn” classes range from raw foods and French cooking to cheeses of the world and regional wine pairings.

Valuing Earth, creativity, and community, MECCA (Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts) helps to divert scrap material out of the waste stream. MECCA accepts donations of nearly any and all art supplies, including ribbon glitter, paint, clay and corks, and gives them an “object afterlife.” The building’s open studio space is available to anyone on a pay-what-you-can basis or you can sign up for a workshop or themed event.

Healthy Eats

Vegetarians and vegans will love the wide selection of comfort foods at Cornbread Café. This mom-and-pop-style diner sources local and organic ingredients from within the nearby food chain whenever possible. Popular items range from traditional meat-free chili and cornbread to Southern-fried tofu and seitan loaf.

Part of a regional chain founded in Eugene, Café Yumm is best known for its signature “yumm” bowls, which layer ingredients like fresh avocado, diced tomatoes, black olives, beans, and rice. Yumm bowls are topped with Yumm sauce — a blend of oil, almonds, chickpeas, soybeans and buttery-flavored nutritional yeast.

Held weekly each Saturday between early April and mid-November, the Lane County Farmers Market offers a multitude of vendors featuring locally made, handcrafted wares and the freshest “farm to table” produce. The International Food Court houses 15 outdoor stalls, while the Market Stage typically features six different acts throughout the day.

Amazing Trails

At an elevation of 2,058 feet, Spencer Butte is the tallest and most prominent landmark in Eugene. Considered a moderate-to-difficult hike, the journey to the top begins under a verdant canopy of dense ferns and majestic Douglas firs that gives way to a rocky outcropping and panoramic views of the Emerald Valley.

As someone who helped establish Eugene as “Track Town USA,” the late All-American middle- and long-distance runner and Olympian Steve “Pre” Prefontaine remains a local legend more than 40 years after his untimely death. For a local “bucket list” experience, head to Alton Baker Park and seek out on Pre’s Trail, a 4.07-mile long running and walking trail built in tribute to Prefontaine.

A 209-acre living tree museum five miles outside of downtown Eugene, the Mount Pisgah Arboretum draws hikers, picnickers, school groups and wedding parties. A network of trails leads to the 1,531-foot-high summit.